Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Black colour, dark brown in the "edges". Lovely roasty aroma with notes of liquorice. Dry roasty flavour with strong espresso coffee notes, very bitter - probably more from the heavy roastiness than the hops.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. An ale based on pilsener malts, with artificial colouring, hmmm? Filtered and pasteurised. Pours with a beautiful chestnut colour, with a good creamy tan head. Nice malty aroma with notes of caramel, oak and dried fruits, hints of roastiness and tobacco. Flavour is malty sweet with caramel, one-dimensional, minimal bitterness. Smooth and mellow, I expected something better than this.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

750 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Copper coloured, good creamy off-white head. Pleasant malty aroma, notes of chocolate, toffee and nuts, hints of roastiness. Smooth and mellow mouthfeel, low carbonation. Flavour has caramel, toffee and some chocolate, slightly sugary. Faint notes of English malt vinegar in the background. Very moderate hops. No masterpiece, and not worth the relatively high price.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Draught at the brewpub. ABV was said to be 4.7%. Cloudy brownish golden colour. Lovely yeasty hefe aroma, "banana split" caramel candy and cloves. Typical hefe flavour, fairly dry. Slightly too bland and watery. It being served ICE cold probably didn’t help.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

330 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Clear golden colour, moderate head that doesn’t last very long. Pleasant sweet aroma of banana, bubblegum, cloves and coriander, Saazer hops of course, hints of dried fruits and oak. Flavour is not that remarkable, spices and alcohol mainly, hints of nuts and oak too. Drinkable, but overpriced.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

330 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. Clear amber colour with a reddish hue. Very good lasting head and lacing. Malty aroma with notes of toffee and plums. Malty flavour with some caramel but not really sweet, like cris_o says: "earthy". Wet cardboard notes in a slightly sourish finish. Drinkable, but certainly no masterpiece.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. XO cognac coloured. Aroma of oak and dried fruits, some peppery notes too. Flavour is a bit oaky with low bitterness, a bit thin mouthfeel. Relatively dry.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Draught at a Turkish restaurant in Odense (had it also later on two other occasions in Denmark). Served too cold. Surprisingly dark colour, orange to brown, cloudy. Moderate but nice hefe aroma and flavour, tolerable hops. Went nicely with the Turkish buffet. Pleasant cloves aftertaste.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Bottled 2004, 500 ml swingtop bottle (Thanks, JensenTaster!). ABV was 8.3%. Murky dark brown colour, very good & lingering tan head. Lovely aroma of dark malts, dark chocolate, Christmas spices, caramel and candy sugar, hints of cherries. Flavour is very rich & malty with some alcoholic warmth, spices and dark chocolate are present. Plenty of hops (maybe a tad too much?? - or maybe not) in the finish balances the sweetness nicely. This is good. This is very good. Maybe not quite as exquisite flavour as Nøgne Ø God Jul (at least it’s a bit different) - but very, very good.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Draught at Carlsen’s Kvarter, Odense. Golden colour, slightly hazy. Traditional hefeweizen aroma with an unusual hint of vomit and rotting fruits. Flavour is much better than the aroma, but unusually sweet for a hefe, plenty of cloves though.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Draught at Carlsen’s Kvarter, Odense. Served too cold. Chestnut colour. Aroma and flavour are very fruity (plums), nearly acidic / vinegary. Decent maltiness, notes of English malt vinegar. Minimal hops. Refreshing and pleasant to drink. Acidic even in the finish, but a wormwoodlike bitterness pops up in the aftertaste.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Draught at Plan B, Copenhagen. Hazy golden colour. Subtle flowers and honey aroma, some pineapple and citrus too. Fruity flavour, moderately sweet, pineapple and citrus again. Not bad.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Draught at the brewpub, RBESG. Notes of the "normal" version (which is rated here): Brown colour. Lovely hoppy aroma. Flavour is pure "hop juice" on a moderately malty background. A "demanding" beer, but not too extreme. Notes of the randallized version: Exciting and stimulating hoppy aroma. (9/10) Flavour is a lovely hoppy explosion from start to finish, with barely enough malts to support it. (9/10) Very bitter aftertaste. Overall 17/20.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Draught at the brewpub, RBESG. Fresh and aged versions. I liked the fresh one better, so my ratings are for that one. Comments aged version: Cloudy brown colour, decent head. Yeasty and strong wort aroma, smells kind of "unfinished / immature". (5/10) Flavour is worty sweet, again "unfinished / immature". (5/10) Not my favourite this one. Overall 11/20. Comments fresh version: Cloudy brown colour. Aroma is malty and "fresher" than the aged one, fruity elements. Some oaky notes too. Flavour is malty / worty sweet - too sweet. Still better than the aged one.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark. ABV is 5.7%. Dark ruby nearly black colour, large tan head. Aroma is overhelming chocolate (like chocolate sauce), artificial vanilla, cocoa, candy and caramel. Definitely too much of all the sweet aromas. Flavour is not quite as overwhelmingly sweet as the aroma makes you fear, but pretty close. Again: too much chocolate, cocoa and artificial vanilla, some coffee notes too. I’m not amused. Couldn’t finish the bottle.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4

330 ml bottle. Oh my god, a special version of Tuborg Juleøl for the Norwegian grocery store market, with a meagre ABV of 4.5%. Obviously designed as a discount brand on this market, Norwegian brewed Tuborg Pils has an equivalent role here too. Amber colour, low head, little lacing. Minimal aroma, hints of caramel. Flavour is unbelievably bland and uninteresting, a little caramel and a minimal amount of cheap hop extract. Avoid!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

330 ml bottle, at the Otto Duborg café near Flensburg. Served with a plastic glass! Golden colour, large and lasting head. Very moderate fruity aroma. Alcoholic and boring sweet flavour.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

330 ml bottle, at the Otto Duborg café near Flensburg. Served with a plastic glass! Amber colour, large and lasting head. Moderate caramel aroma. Malty flavour with some caramel. Low on hops. Drinkable.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Typical pilsener colour. Moderate flowery aroma with hints of honey. This is a light bodied and pleasant pilsener, amount of hops seems just right.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Amber colour. Very moderate aroma, hints of honey and caramel. Just a little fuller mouthfeel and flavour than their Jomfruhumle, seems reasonably well hopped.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Rerate, 500 ml bottle,bought at Føtex or SuperBest, Aalborg. ABV is 5.5%. Dark reddish brown colour, big cream-coloured head. Aroma of spices, malts and caramel. The flavour is malty with plenty of caramel, moderate spicy notes, hints of honey. Low bitterness, the finish is a bit bland. Still a drinkable beer. Original rating:Sample + full size glass on tap at the brewpub. I think the waiter must have mixed up things here - the sample was deep golden and spicy, while the full size was copper coloured (like their IPA), hoppier and less spicy. Comments sample: Aroma of incense and Christmas spices (ginger, cardamom, cloves). Spicy sweet flavour, unusual, interesting.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Also known as "No. 1 IPA", waiter said it’s the same beer. Menu said it was "brewed by the craft brewers of Skagen". The waiter might have screwed up the samples, the one I got was deep copper coloured. Moderate hoppy aroma with notes of caramel. Flavour is reasonably hoppy but not really impressive. Relatively dry.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Sample on tap at the brewpub, on the day of its release for the Christmas season 2005. I think the waiter might again have screwed up the samples here ... Golden colour, much paler than the description. Hints of vomit in the aroma, not very pleasant. Tastes like a reasonably hoppy pale bock / premium lager, nothing Christmasy about it.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Sample on tap at the brewpub. Black colour, no head, moderate carbonation. Roasty aroma with notes of tar, liquorice / aniseed dominates. Distinct heavy roastiness from start to finish, bitter and dry, notes of strong coffee. Mouthfeel could have been fuller.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

"Fad" means "draught" (or really: "keg"), but the name is used on bottles and cans too. This is an acceptable Danish lager - nothing special, but not bad either. Very average, no reason to search it out.